Hosta I.D. ?

Spider · Post by **Spider** » Dec 24, 2007 7:49 pm

Turns out my downstairs neighbor has a hosta planted in the ground. I showed her my Plantagenia and she was talking about hers so I went for a look. It is fragerant, has darker solid colored leaves, and the leaves are narrower and have grown kind of sparse and droopy. It is flowering right now, white flowers with lavender streaks, buds are lavender. The single flower stalk is way taller than the plant and the flowers size is longer than my June's were, they look like the plantagenia flower photos I've seen here, but with noticable purple. It has never had a winter break and she has 2 divisions of it (possibly the reason for the straggely look). She waters every morning. The sun hasn't been out for a few days but it should be anywhere from bright shade to direct sun from 7 AM - noonish.

I've spent the day doing my own search and have come up with Honeybells, but that one doesn't seem as dark in the leaves. I'll see if I can get a photo, but it would be with the cell phone and the photo will be small.

Thanks

wishiwere · Post by **wishiwere** » Dec 26, 2007 6:03 pm

Royal Standard perhaps?

Post by **Chris_W** » Dec 26, 2007 7:35 pm

Hi Spider,

I don't think you've had more comments because we just aren't sure what they have. I've been looking for my flower comparisons of Royal Standard and Honeybells but can't find them right now... But from the description I'm not really sure. At first it sounds like Honeybells but then when you mention dark green leaves that sounds more like Royal Standard. But your flower description sounds a bit more like Honeybells. So basically I think it could be toss up between those two unless they really have something different.

If you can post a picture we might be able to give you a better idea.

Have a good evening.

Chris

Spider · Post by **Spider** » Dec 26, 2007 10:28 pm

I'll see if I can't get a photo this weekend. Hopefully the sun will be out well enough to get it.

Thanks for trying

largosmom · Post by **largosmom** » Dec 27, 2007 11:35 am

My Royal Standard flowers are pretty much white. It is also a late bloomer in my zone 7b garden, mid/late August.

The photo below is not great for leaf identification, but the petioles are very long and graceful, and you can get an idea of the flower size. It's close to Plantaginea in size, but my Plantaginea flowers are even a tiny bit larger than these.

Laura

largosmom · Post by **largosmom** » Dec 27, 2007 11:46 am

Here is a better photo of the leaves of Royal Standard. These two hostas look very different to me. The petioles of Honeybells are not "clean", the leaves extend down the petiole quite a bit and are lighter in color. Honeybells doesn't have great substance either, in my garden.

Laura

edited to add: Not sure why the colors are off on the thumbnails, but if you click on them, they are correct.

Lessadragon · Post by **Lessadragon** » Dec 27, 2007 11:55 am

Hi Laura,

Those two photos look to me like plantaginea rather than Royal Standard. The flowers are too large to be RS. Even the leaves resemble plantaginea. RS flowers are only about 3" long.

Lynn

sugar · Post by **sugar** » Dec 27, 2007 12:55 pm

Royal Standard has pure white flowers, so that won't be correct

Perhaps a Fried Green Tomatos? I don't have that plant over here, but I do have it's brother/sister, Fried Bananas, and that has flowers that are slightly lavendar ...

Another guess would be Flower Power, but that isn't that dark green, rather greyish green leaves that are more stretched...

largosmom · Post by **largosmom** » Dec 27, 2007 1:14 pm

Lynn, It was identified by someone I traded with this year, as I had it as "NOID" prior to that. This was one of the first hostas I purchased, so it could be a more mature plant than the one below, which I purchased more recently and KNOW is plantaginea.

When I looked it up, it seemed to match the description for height and such. It was a fairly large clump prior to being dug up after voles attacked my clumps last year.

Here's one I know is Plantaginea. It's a shorter plant. The other one I thought was royal Standard was dug up after emerging, I think, and my potted hostas have shorter petioles and more immature leaves so far. This one is about two years old for me, the taller plant I've had for at least five years.

Edited to add: I'd love to know for certain! I thought Royal Standard was a close relative of Plantaginea.

Post by **Chris_W** » Dec 27, 2007 1:27 pm

Hi Laura,

Glad to see the thumbnails are working now

The first picture you posted is definitely a picture of a Hosta plantaginea flower. But the second picture posted looks like the foliage of Royal Standard (plantaginea won't ever have any texture to the leaves) and the last picture is definitely the foliage of plantaginea.

Plantaginea has very large flowers (5 to 6") and stays in a long tubular trumpet shape. Royal Standard will have flowers half that size and the flower petals always flare outwards.

Here are flower pictures of Royal Standard (note the tips of the buds are actually purple), Plantaginea (pure white and very long), and Honeybells (more purple). I've also attached leaf comparisons of Royal Standard and Honeybells grown in full sun (so they are a little bleached out).

largosmom · Post by **largosmom** » Dec 27, 2007 1:31 pm

You guys are right! Since both are in pots near the brick foundation of my house, I think maybe I shot the pics of the plantaginea flowers right before the photo of the Royal Standard foliage. If you compare the brick wall in the known Plantaginea pic to the pic of the flowers, you see they are the same. Next year I'll be sure to shoot something else between those two!

Glad that mystery is solved.

Spider · Post by **Spider** » Dec 28, 2007 8:00 pm

Perhaps it's honeybells with darker leaves from the light conditions? I've not seen daylight at home since I first posted. Hopefully the flowers will still be out Sunday when I see daylight again and get some photos.

DryGulch · Post by **DryGulch** » Dec 29, 2007 1:08 pm

Actually this has been a great discussion on three very similar hosta, although in flower I feel the platiginea can never be confused! Great photos of the similarity, but marked difference in leaves.

Spider · Post by **Spider** » Dec 31, 2007 6:07 pm

I'm going to say it is Honeybells. The flowers are definately long and have lavender. The leaf shape is like the photo labled for honeybells.